What does your character think of mine?

[fairyblue]

We haven't had one of these in a long time, and anything written here can totally be used for filling out/updating CR charts!
1) Post your characters
2) Hit other people asking what their characters think of yours!
3) ????
4) PROFIT!

Comments

[doitrockapella]

HELLO.

REID ON CRANKY MCBASTARD AND FLIRTY MCFLIRTERSON, PLEASE.

[leftinbasketforfbi]

Can I call them 'Cranky' and 'Flirty'? :3

Anyway, Reid actually really likes the both of them, and I'm one of those weirdos who likes analyzing characters and never shuts up, so be prepared for lengthiness.

First off, Albert. Albert is, surprisingly, the one Reid is most comfortable with out of the whole Twin Peaks cast. Albert is gruff and cantankerous and sarcastic, but he's very honest about himself, and he's very honest about how he feels. He's abrasive, but he's safe, and that is a trait that is invaluable to someone like Reid. His innate certainty in himself and his perceptions reassures Reid on some level as well--while he always has lingering doubt as to his own sanity, Albert has a way of squashing those doubts without knowing he's doing it, even if it's only a temporary squashing.

The fact that Albert won't overtly baby him is also a major plus, since Reid is sick and tired of people treating him like he's twelve when he's thirty. Since Albert's insults and sarcasm towards him are never particularly cruel or vitriolic, Reid doesn't mind them at all, and could happily spend a lot of time around him despite that (possibly even because of that, because his abrasive but ultimately kind personality is part of what assures Reid of Albert's fundamental honesty). Because of all that, Reid really responds when Albert gives him a verbal smack when he starts to panic or isn't seeing the obvious, and he's extremely grateful for the help.

Although on the flip side, Reid would find it difficult to confide in Albert about anything, since he values Albert's respect and doesn't want to make Albert start considering him a victim or look down on him. Reid hates his vulnerabilities, and he feels like sharing any of them--that he was forcefully shot up and became a drug addict, that he is at real risk of inheriting schizophrenia, that he has serious issues with any kind of emotional intimacy, that he's been deeply affected by all the horrible cases he's dealt with, that he had the childhood from hell, so on and so forth--would cause Albert to lose respect and start babying him like everyone else.

In a nutshell, while Reid is far from blind to Albert's faults, he respects him and recognizes that Albert can get through to him in ways most people can't. And yet he still would have serious issues revealing more of himself to him, because he feels that would make him seem weak.

In comparison, Reid's thoughts on Carmen are easy to articulate. He honestly does find her attractive and enjoys their flirts and games, but he would probably get a little frightened if anything more serious happened just yet, because he doesn't know how to navigate romantic and/or sexual entanglements very well and he doesn't want to put his issues out on display for her. He's slowly letting her worm closer to him, since she's not out to hurt anyone and any illegal activity she does is for the sake of the game than the profit, but there's too much mystery for him to feel completely comfortable yet.

EDITED TO ADD: Carmen is actually really fascinating to him, because she's hard to pin down. For a profiler, that's a challenge and that immediately snaps up his attention, almost as much as all the trivia quizzes. He likes her and he wants to figure her out, but he'd be frightened by the idea of her figuring him out.

At the moment, he wouldn't feel comfortable with talking about himself too much beyond talk of education and the occasional anecdote about a case. Even if he isn't always conscious of it, his first instinct is to protect himself, and he'd only be moderately okay with revealing the same amount about himself to Carmen as she reveals about herself to him. I think as time goes on, he'll come to trust her more, but at the moment, he's very happy with her intellectual games and happy that for once he's able to flirt with a woman without Morgan coaching him beforehand. That's what happens when you hit on a topic he's confident with, Carmen.

Phew. And there you have it. Hope your eyes didn't bleed from WALL O' TEXT.

[doitrockapella]

Yeah, it's really interesting because one of the (subtle) signs that Albert really likes Reid is that his insults will never be directed at Reid personally. He might say something to the effect of "you did something stupid", but it won't be "you are stupid". BECAUSE HE'S NOT. He's just one of those gifted agents who occasionally needs Albert's brand of kick in the head, and Albert is always happy to deliver.

And while I have no doubt that Carmen will keep trying to knock Reid off-balance when the opportunity arises, she won't press him to the point of outright discomfort. It's funny to watch him squirm and fluster a little, but she'd know when to stop if it came to that. She does the same thing herself, when people get a little too close, except her response to discomfort is usually to disappear, and Reid's probably not as adept of an escape artist as she is.

[leftinbasketforfbi]

Slowly, Reid's actually realizing that, since he observes more personal insults coming from Alfred when he's talking to/about other people than he does when they're speaking to each other. After a couple more months (because he is one insecure man and it actually takes him that long to understand that he is cared about if he's not slammed over the head with a sledgehammer), signs like that will build up and give him a more solid understanding of the fact that Alfred actually likes him on a personal level as well as a professional level. And then he'll get even more secretive about the source of his migraines and aversion to painkillers...

Reid's response is usually to clam up like a boss and evade like hell. But he can deal with teasing, and if she respects his limits, he'll gradually become more and more comfortable with her. Once he knows exactly how to predict a person, his comfort level skyrockets, so a lot of conversations and time knowing each other will contribute to that.